Real Riders
New member
- Jul 18, 2013
- 749
- 0
I hand wash and dry dealer lots and it takes me 20 minutes per car. I use a sheepskin synthetic wash mitt and a Water Sprite.
Wash and dry a car in less than 30 minutes!
- Thread starter Mike Phillips
- Start date
scuff
New member
- Jun 24, 2016
- 241
- 0
Mike, I use the same quick connect fittings, shut off valve, and a similar shower nozzle; I agree that they all help to speed up the process. If I had the room, I'd have a cart, too. I keep most of my detailing gear in a cabinet just inside the overhead door of my garage so it's fairly accessible, but cutting down on trips to the cabinet would save time.
Do you have any tips for cleaning the undercarriage? I hate driving through a brushless car wash when all I really want is a blast from the undercarriage bar. I'm not concerned with the appearance, but removing deicing agents is important in my area.
Do you have any tips for cleaning the undercarriage? I hate driving through a brushless car wash when all I really want is a blast from the undercarriage bar. I'm not concerned with the appearance, but removing deicing agents is important in my area.
4u2nvinmtl
New member
- Jun 9, 2015
- 443
- 0
Here's everything I used except for some quick changes for the hose fittings and a dedicated water sprayer for rinsing the car.
Ready to put the top down and go for a cruise here in sunny, Stuart Florida!
:dblthumb2:
Interesting, so you washed without any buckets, and just one mitt? I assume you use the foam gun to rinse the mitt out after each panel?
Was that mitt also used for the face of the wheels or you did the wheels just with the one brush?
I'm looking to speed up my weekly maintenance wash take currently takes me 1.5-3hrs (yes I know stick with what works but...)
I'd be interested to see how you break down your time.
For example, when I wash my 09 Jeep SRT8 here's my timeline for my weekly maintenance wash:
5-10 minutes to get set up
5-10 minutes to pre-soak my car with a foam cannon on dry paint (sometimes I skip this step and forgo the pressure washer altogether)
20-30 minutes to wash the wheels (barrels first with a Wheel Woolie, then tires with a brush, followed by the lugs with a BHB, and the face of the wheels with a wash mitt)
5-10 minutes to rinse the dirt and soap and dry my wheels (to prevent spotting on the finish)
20-30 minutes to two bucket wash (that's working as fast as I can, it's got a lot of surface area to cover)
5 minutes for final flood rinse
15-20 minutes to dry with WW towels w/ a drying aid (currently WG Uber, love that gloss)
2.5-10 minutes to apply dressing to trim and tires
7.5-15 minutes to clean the glass and mirrors
5-10 minutes to put everything back away
That gives me a base time anywhere from 1.5hrs to 2.5hrs for a weekly wash and I just don't see how I could be done faster other than skipping steps which I do, do from time to time, but still I'm looking at 1hr minium. I'm still apprehensive about WW'es (worried about marring the paint) and have done a few within 10-20mintues when I pressed for time but find it's less than perfect (lots of things get skipped).
It gets way too dirty for WW or RW on a weekly basis IMHO:
Weekly wash in progress:
Thanks!
scuff
New member
- Jun 24, 2016
- 241
- 0
The QR hose connectors & valve Mike uses are real timesavers for me. I smear a little silicone grease on the threads to make sure the fittings don't corrode.Interesting, so you washed without any buckets, and just one mitt? I assume you use the foam gun to rinse the mitt out after each panel?
Was that mitt also used for the face of the wheels or you did the wheels just with the one brush?
I'm looking to speed up my weekly maintenance wash take currently takes me 1.5-3hrs (yes I know stick with what works but...)
I'd be interested to see how you break down your time.
For example, when I wash my 09 Jeep SRT8 here's my timeline for my weekly maintenance wash:
5-10 minutes to get set up
5-10 minutes to pre-soak my car with a foam cannon on dry paint (sometimes I skip this step and forgo the pressure washer altogether)
20-30 minutes to wash the wheels (barrels first with a Wheel Woolie, then tires with a brush, followed by the lugs with a BHB, and the face of the wheels with a wash mitt)
5-10 minutes to rinse the dirt and soap and dry my wheels (to prevent spotting on the finish)
20-30 minutes to two bucket wash (that's working as fast as I can, it's got a lot of surface area to cover)
5 minutes for final flood rinse
15-20 minutes to dry with WW towels w/ a drying aid (currently WG Uber, love that gloss)
2.5-10 minutes to apply dressing to trim and tires
7.5-15 minutes to clean the glass and mirrors
5-10 minutes to put everything back away
That gives me a base time anywhere from 1.5hrs to 2.5hrs for a weekly wash and I just don't see how I could be done faster other than skipping steps which I do, do from time to time, but still I'm looking at 1hr minium. I'm still apprehensive about WW'es (worried about marring the paint) and have done a few within 10-20mintues when I pressed for time but find it's less than perfect (lots of things get skipped).
It gets way too dirty for WW or RW on a weekly basis IMHO:
Weekly wash in progress:
Thanks!
If you can keep them wet while doing section rinses, maybe you could skip the wheel drying until after your final rinse of the entire vehicle.
Using a cart to store and transport your wash gear might help. AG has a few options worth a look, and this is a good read - http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...riots-garage-detailing-cart-autogeek-com.html
Is there a way to speed up deploying your pressure washer? Maybe try to store the hose and cord differently. I got tired of fighting with the hose on mine and replaced it with a Flexzilla hose. It's much more flexible, which makes it easier to uncoil and coil. I've used a valved Y-fitting on my main water hose, with one side going to the pressure washer and the other to a low pressure hose; QR fittings all around. It speeds up setup and always keeps high & low pressure water ready.
One thing that helps with my truck is using a folding step stool to reach the roof & hood easier. I use the same stool for accessing the roof rack and roof top tent on trips. Folding flat makes it easy to store, too. I have a different stool, but it's a common design. I've thought about buying a platform for use when polishing, too.
Hope some of that helps! Neat Jeep, btw. I haven't seen many of those around.
Mike Phillips
Active member
- Dec 5, 2022
- 51,004
- 7
- Thread starter
- #25
If the car isn't too dirty, (or my truck isn't too dirty), then I simply spray off the wash mitt after washing a panel. This only works if the car is fairly clean. Otherwise I keep a bucket of rinse water around and a grit guard to flush removed dirt off the mitt.
I don't use mitts on wheels - I use the Wheel Woolies Black Boar's Hair Wheel Brush. My favorite wheel brush for my vehicle's wheels and also for doing Cosmetic Engine Detailing.
How to do cosmetic engine detailing
First - I don't normally ever let my vehicles get real dirty thus they are quick and easy to wash to start with.
My routine is the same thing I teach in my books, videos, TV and classes.....
Always start with wheels and tires first.
For the vehicle, start at the top and work your way down.
If I want to go uber nuts, after wheels and tires I wash the lower, dirtiest portions of the body panels with a dedicated wash mitt and then move to the top and work down using a separate clean wash mitt.
Besides having to climb into the truck bed to wash the roof and standing on Werner work platforms to reach the hood, the rest of my truck body panels are fast and easy to wash and rinse as they are to machine wax.
The wife's MB is super easy and super fast to wash and dry but again - I stay on top of it so it's never very dirt.
I wrote an article about fast and easy using a quote from Barry Meguiar and also giving him full credit.
Frequent Car Care is Easy Car Care
Mike Phillips
Active member
- Dec 5, 2022
- 51,004
- 7
- Thread starter
- #26
scuff
New member
- Jun 24, 2016
- 241
- 0
No doubt that's the biggest time saver. I used to have free access to a brushless auto-wash, and I relied on it far too much, leading to neglected finishes. After correcting the paint recently, I've found that I can hand wash & dry my cars easily, with better results than I could ever get at the drive-thru. I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed the process, the cars definitely look better, and the paint will last longer.
I thought of another possible benefit to using a cart. I find myself running back & forth to put the hose nozzle somewhere out of the way, and rinsing any debris off of my hand after handling it. A cart user could rest the nozzle on top or hook it to the side of the cart, right where it's needed and without risk of contamination. Maybe I need to find room for a cart.
Mike Phillips
Active member
- Dec 5, 2022
- 51,004
- 7
- Thread starter
- #29
This,
hook it to the side of the cart,
A car makes washing your car faster and cleaner since you have a place to put your tools and definitly having the ability to simply hook your spray to the side of the car, off the ground and ready to go is a huge benefit.
DetailZeus
Member
- Nov 30, 2016
- 259
- 2
Bump.
I was searching wash methods this morning and was curious if anyone still used a method like this. Foam guns have seem to fallen out of vogue...
I was searching wash methods this morning and was curious if anyone still used a method like this. Foam guns have seem to fallen out of vogue...
Bill D
Active member
- Mar 3, 2006
- 2,481
- 17
I actually use it when the car isn't very dirty. I can get away with just foaming, rinsing, and then drying with all dirt gone and marring free results. You must have a healthy layer of LSP to do this and for most people it can't be less than once a week routine.
